Call Center September 2002 News

Genesys sets aside $4 M for BPO facility in Pune
Mumbai-based software and engineering company Genesys International Corporation is making a foray into the business process outsourcing (BPO) space. The company plans to invest $4 million (Rs 20 crore) over the next two years in setting up a 150-engineer team at its BPO facility in Pune.“In the first year, we will put together a team of 50 engineers and start with two four-month pilot projects before initiating full-scale operations,” Genesys International Corporation CEO Abhay Nalawade told eFE. The company intends to focus on preventive maintenance of machines as its core BPO activity. It is targeting utilities like power generation companies and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in the US and Europe.

TN Draft ITES Policy To Give Cash For Job Creation
Close on the heels of announcing its Information Technology (IT) policy, the Tamil Nadu government has released a draft IT enabled services (ITES) policy. The policy has announced annual cash incentives for jobs created by ITES firms. The incentives will be given only after successful completion of a year’s service by the employees in an ITES firm.

Wilco Intl Bets Big On BPO Segment
Wilco International Systems is gearing up to position itself as a potential back-office services provider for its parent company, Automatic Data Processing (ADP). Wilco has also been chosen as a strategic location for software development by the $7 billion ADP.Wilco International in Hyderabad, has entered into Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) arena by floating Data Management Services division to address the parent’s clients across the world.

Zensar Joins Destiny For Outsourcing Solutions
Software solutions pro-vider, Zensar Technologies, has formed a partnership with Destiny, a US based technology consulting firm to offer high-quality, cost competitive offshore outsourcing platforms for financial institutions in global markets.Ganesh Natrajan, Zensar’s chief executive officer said his company highly valued Destiny’s close knowledge of the financial services sector. Desting works exclusively for financial institutions, offering services spanning strategy to implementation and counts CitiGroup, Mellon and Northern Trust as its clients. Destiny is based in Conshohocken,Pennsylvania

VisualSoft Sets Sights On BPO Space
Following the successful restructuring of its business plans, VisualSoft Technologies Ltd plans to capture the additional and emerging business opportunities in BPO (business process operations) and ITES (information technology enabled sevices) space to become a major player in both high-end solutions and services in India.The strategy includes foray into the BPO segment, hiving off the product division into a separate entity and improving the marketing network for high-end solutions business.

ITI to foray into ITeS space, call centre business
India’s largest telecom equipment company, ITI Limited, would soon foray into IT enabled Service (ITeS) space, and is shifting focus from manufacturing to total solutions capability, a top ITI official said on September 27.Addressing the 52nd AGM of Bangalore-headquartered company, its chairman and managing director, Lakshmi G Menon said, “Very soon, ITI will mark its presence in new IT-enabled areas with businesses like call centres, info-kiosks, IP (Internet Protocol) phones, etc.”She said that the company achieved a record production of Rs 2,458 crore during 2001- 02, registering a 12 per cent growth, despite a sluggish market environment.

“The goal before us is to imbibe the shift from manufacturing to total solutions company,” Menon said.

With the current order book of around Rs 2,000 crore on hand, Rs 500 crore in the pipeline and a further Rs 500 crore expected against the tenders of WLL, CorDECT, DLC-SDH and STMs, she said that the company is looking forward to a better performance in the current financial year.

Menon said that all units of the company are in the process of upgradation to ISO: 9001/2000.

“Foreseeing the need for software quality assurance and also improvement in software development process, the core R&D is implementing a plan for SEI-CMM level 3 certification. Additional marketing outlets have been opened for better customer service,” she added.

NASSCOM sets up ITES sub-groups
Nasscom’s IT-enabled services (ITES) forum has decided to form three subgroups to focus on areas like human resource, regulatory issues and customer access within ITES.“The HR sub-group will be headed by NIIT Suren Singh Rasaily, the customer access sub-group by WNS Group president Neeraj Bhargava and the regulatory group by BT Worldwide managing director Arun Seth,” National Association of Software and Services Companies president Kiran Karnik said. Mr Seth is also the convenor of the ITES forum.

Pitney Bowes Mulls Call Centre In India
The global mail and document automation company, Pitney Bowes, is looking at India to set up a back up technical support call centre for its global operations.The company currently has two such support call centres in the US and UK, with a total of more than 1,000 seats.

Infowavz plans global network for foreign language support
Even as the Indian call centre industry is set to ramp up its English language support, Mumbai-based ICICI funded Infowavz is set to build a global partner network with other call center players to offer foreign language support.This model will not only facilitate the company to pitch for deals in new regions, but will in turn help Infowavz offer its English language support capabilities to its partners and leverage their foreign language skills in the bargain.

UK set to contribute 20 percent of Indian ITES market in ’02-03
United Kingdom is likely to triple its IT-enabled services (ITES) outsourcing to India from the current $150 million to $460 million by March 2003, according to Nasscom.“The United Kingdom (UK) is likely to contribute over 20 per cent to the total Indian IT-enabled services (ITES) market by this fiscal March 2003,” National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) vice president Sunil Mehta said. In the last fiscal, almost 10 per cent of the total Indian ITES market, estimated at $1.5 billion, was sourced from the UK.

Aditya Birla group eyes acquisitions in BPO sector
Recognising the growth potential in the business process outsourcing (BPO) and call centre arena, the Aditya Birla Group has been actively scouting for strategic deals and acquisitions in this segment. It is reliably learnt that the group has had negotiations with BPO and call centre companies for a strategic deal.While the size of the proposed acquisition could not be ascertained, one investment banker said that a kitty of at least $15-20 million would be required for buying any call centre or BPO company today.

Infowavz targets US ITES cos to scale up business
As part of its strategy to strengthen its presence in the West, ICICI-funded IT-enabled services (ITES) player Infowavz is eyeing US ITES players for possible buy-outs. In the next two years, the company is expecting to add another 3,500 agents to its existing team of 500 people.“We are in talks with three US companies for possible buy-outs to build our expertise in the BPO space as well as to set up a stronger presence in the US,” Infowavz chief executive officer Zia Shiekh said. Among others, the company has identified a $3 million company in the customer relationship management (CRM) space and two BPO players.

ICICI Sets Up Rs 50 Cr Call Centre In Andhra Pradesh
ICICI Bank, launched a 1100-seat call centre with a built-up area of around 70,000 sq ft in the Cyber Gateway, the second phase of Hitec City near Hyderabad on Thursday. The centre was inaugurated by the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu.

SoftPro Systems Forays Into ITES
In order to overcome the present crisis in the IT services area and to cash in on the booming ITES sector, Hyderabad-based SoftPro Systems Ltd has diversified into call centre business apart from entering the bio-informatics area.

Tamil Nadu State IT/BPO policy to bridge ‘digital divide’: Chief Minister
Tamil Nadu government’s latest IT policy, seeking to establish the state as the destination of choice for IT industries and upgrade the quality of life of the citizens through e-governance among other things, was released in Chennai by Chief Minister Jayalalithaa.Unveiling the policy during the inauguration of “Connect 2002″, an international IT conference, she said the policy also aims at empowering people in the rural areas so as to bridge the ‘digital divide’, to enhance research and development and promote use of Tamil in IT.”I am sure the implementation of the policy will usher in a new era of growth of the IT industries and employment opportunities and transform Tamil Nadu from a in-line to on-line state,” Jayalalithaa said.

The policy also envisages to position the state as the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) capital of the world. It outlines measures to develop cities like Coimbatore, Madurai, Tiruchirappalli, Tirunelveli and Salem in the BPO space.

The two-day “Connect 2002” is being attended by more than 1,000 delegates from India and abroad mainly from the US, UK Singapore and Mauritius.

Tata Honeywell to double BPO unit workforce
Global Services, an IT-enabled services (ITES) strategic business unit (SBU) of Tata Honeywell is planning to double its workforce in the next two years. Global Services caters to Honeywell’s worldwide operations. Tata Honeywell has lined up around Rs 30 crore to invest in the SBU’s expansion. It plans to hire about 250 engineers specialising in instrumentation, chemicals and mechanical engineering.“We have been growing at 40 per cent year-on-year and this year too we are looking at the same growth,” Global Services head and Tata Honeywell vice president Vimal Kapur said.

US, European call centres to farm out work to India
In an attempt to beat revenue and profit pressures, US and European call centres are in the process of outlocating projects worth $400 million to the Indian contact centre industry. As a result, the $1 billion Indian IT-enabled services (ITES) industry is likely to witness a jump of 40 per cent in revenues, according to a market intelligence report.The report by the National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) is based on over 15 contact centre companies in the US, UK and France. These companies ranged from giants of the call centre industry like $2.3 billion Convergys to smaller companies like $33 million ACI Telecentrics.

BPO firm CBay sets up unit in Bangalore
CBay Systems Ltd, an NRI-promoted US-based healthcare business process outsourcing company, has opened a Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act -compliant data and process centre in Bangalore.It has also simultaneously announced the acquisition of a one-third stake in Arrendale Associates of North Carolina, which is both a technology and service provider in healthcare business process outsourcing and a partner of CBay for two years.

ITES Players Log On To Business Continuity Planning (BCP) To Stay Online
Business continuity planning (BCP) has become a survival tool for companies in the IT-enabled services (ITES) sector. 9/11 has forced ITES companies to redefine their strategies (mostly prompted by their clients) by adding dollops of caution. According to the ITES training and consulting firm QAI (formerly known as Quality Assurance Institute), all the large ITES players (with more than 300 seats) have either set up multi-location facilities or are in the process of setting them up.Further, about half a dozen ITES companies are eyeing international markets to set up back-up or redundancy facilities, according to an industry expert. Most contact centres involved in the outbound calls are not working today (9/11), according to various companies.

Polaris To Start BPO By November
Chennai-based Polaris Software Labs Ltd (Polaris) expects to commence its business process outsourcing (BPO) initiative by November. Initially it will have 300 seats in Chennai and will focus on the banking, financial services and insurance space, said Arun Jain, chairman and managing director, Polaris.“The initial funding is $2 million (Rs 10 crore) and the opportunity is being tapped by a wholly owned subsidiary – Optimus. We are exploring inorganic growth options for growing in the niche,” Mr Jain told press persons at the sidelines of the annual general meeting held here on Friday.

Will India’s BPO industry go the way of dot-coms?
India’s business process outsourcing (BPO) business is in danger of becoming like dot-com businesses, with returns not matching investments, according to a Gartner Inc. report that has aroused debate in the country.A large number of multinational companies, primarily from the U.S., are outsourcing their business processes offshore to Indian BPO companies, but investors’ expectations about the size of the business are exaggerated, according to Sujay Chohan, country director of Mumbai-based Gartner India Research and Advisory Services Pvt. Ltd., the Indian subsidiary of Gartner. The research and advisory company, with world headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut, released its report, “IT Trends in India, 2002,” earlier this week

Nasscom presages BPO business from US insurers
Nasscom, despite cautionary signals from research and advisory firms on the future of business process outsourcing, is bullish on the segment and foresees strong offshoring opportunities from US insurers.According to a market intelligence report by Nasscom on the scope of BPO, after the successful experience of insurance majors such as GE Capital, Royal & Sun Alliance, Phoenix and Conseco Exl Services, most other leading insurance companies are evaluating off-shoring opportunities in India.

Infinite Eyes Mid-sized BPO Firm In US
Delhi-based IT solutions and services company Infinite Computer Solutions is targeting acquisition of a business process outsourcing (BPO) company in the US.“We are looking at acquiring a medium-sized BPO player preferably in the US with about 200 to 300 people as a cash-stock deal,” Infinite Computer Solutions CEO (India operations) and director Navin Chandra said.

States, Industry bodies on ITES training drive
The fact that the demand for trained IT-enabled services (ITES) professionals might soon overtake the supply has caught the attention of the industry as well as some state governments.Associations including National Association of Software Services Companies (Nasscom), Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and state governments (Kerala and Gujarat) have chalked out various strategies to address this issue.

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